LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Basketball Team (7-1) got back on track with a 69-61 victory over Goucher College (4-6) Monday afternoon at the Centennial Heights Community Center. The contest was the final game for the Wasps in the 2015 Las Vegas Hoopla.
The Gophers led for much of the first half pushing their advantage to 25-17 with 4:32 left in the second quarter. E&H then went on a 16-5 run thanks in part to four three-pointers to go up 33-30 with 13 seconds left before the break. A pair of Goucher free throws made the halftime score 33-32 in Emory & Henry's favor.
The third quarter saw the Wasps continue to hit shots from long range as they started things off with a 13-4 run adding three more treys for a 46-36 advantage. Goucher closed the gap to 55-all with 5:53 to play in the contest but could not get over the hump to retake the lead. E&H hit four-of-six free throws in the final minute to put the contest out of reach, 69-61.
Emory & Henry connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers, shooting 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from beyond the arc as a team. The Wasps were led by sophomore guard Chloe Harris (Bristol, Va.), who posted a game-high 21 points with five three-pointers to go along with two blocks and two steals.
Junior guard Megan Jacoby (Richmond, Va.) scored 11 points on three-for-five shooting with a pair of three's, seven assists, four steals and two rebounds while freshman guard Taylor Blevins (Abingdon, Va.) notched her second double-double in three games with 11 points and 12 rebounds, adding two assists, a block and a steal. Senior forward Anna Green (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a trio of shots from long range, accounting for nine points, two rebounds and two assists while senior forward Tamara Brewster (Morrow, Ga.) had six points, four boards, an assist, a block and a steal off the bench.
As a team, Emory & Henry shot 44.4 percent (24-for-54) from the field, adding a 10-for-16 (62.5%) performance at the charity stripe. The Wasps made the most of 21 Gopher turnovers, scoring 21 points of Goucher's miscues.
The Gophers were led by Brianna Bull, who scored 21 points on 10-for-24 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Hannah Kuehl had 12 points and five boards while Jaida Scarborough notched eight points, eight assists and six rebounds and Kristi Kozlowski added eight points and Amaka Ezeani had a team-high nine rebounds.
Goucher was 25-for-65 (38.5%) from the field, scoring 30 points in the paint. The Gophers held a 45-31 rebounding advantage including an 18-5 margin on the offensive glass which translated to a 16-2 lead on second-chance points.
Emory & Henry will take the next 10 days to celebrate the holidays and prepare for the Second Annual Comfort Inn Holiday Tournament. The two-day event hosted at the John Rutledge King Center will be played over the weekend of Saturday, January 2 and Sunday, January 3. E&H's first game will be on Saturday against Agnes Scott College at 4:30 p.m., while North Carolina Wesleyan College will take on the University of Pikeville at 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15